If you’ve never had ginseng oolong from Bird Pick before, you’re pretty much missing out. It’s a heavier bodied oolong that is coated with a mixture of ginseng extract and licorice root on the outside (it doesn’t say it anywhere on the packaging, but it’s where I suspect the sweetness comes from). It tastes so full in the mouth and has a gentle menthyl effect of the mouth after every sip in addition to its sweetness. No dryness – and that’s the deal breaker for me.

Don’t get the supreme grade mixed up with the regular ginseng oolong. The difference is highly noticeable. I’ll re-review this tea when I get a fresh batch in, because I’ve had it for awhile.

Preparation

I do not think the sweetness is from licorice. Ginseng oolong usually has a sweet after taste from the ginseng. It is usually a little bitter at the sip, and then sweet with the exhale. That has been my experience with ginseng oolongs. I asked my local proprietor about the sweetness in the oolong, and he said it was the ginseng.

Actually, I was just in a Bird Pick Tea a week or two ago, and this was the tea they were serving (it was delicious by the way, no bitterness at all). The person who served me the tea said it was coated with ginseng AND licorice, and that the licorice sweetened it.

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I do not think the sweetness is from licorice. Ginseng oolong usually has a sweet after taste from the ginseng. It is usually a little bitter at the sip, and then sweet with the exhale. That has been my experience with ginseng oolongs. I asked my local proprietor about the sweetness in the oolong, and he said it was the ginseng.

Actually, I was just in a Bird Pick Tea a week or two ago, and this was the tea they were serving (it was delicious by the way, no bitterness at all). The person who served me the tea said it was coated with ginseng AND licorice, and that the licorice sweetened it.